August 7, 2015

1964: Bears Rally to Defeat College All-Stars

The 31st annual College All-Star Game in
Chicago on August 7, 1964 featured the home-town Bears, NFL Champions of 1963,
against the usual crop of outstanding players coming out of college.

Chicago, which was coached by “the Papa Bear” George
Halas, had combined dominating defense and a conservative offense to reach the
top the previous year. QB Bill Wade (pictured at right) was a competent field general and had
skilled receivers in TE Mike Ditka and flanker Johnny Morris. However, there
was also a shadow of tragedy due to the deaths of HB Willie Galimore and end
John “Bo” Farrington in an auto accident during training camp. The players wore
black arm bands in their honor.

Otto Graham was coaching the All-Stars for the seventh consecutive
year and had led the collegians to two wins during that time, including the
previous year against Green Bay. All-Star standouts included quarterbacks Pete
Beathard from USC and George Mira of Miami, Ohio State flanker Paul Warfield,
and two Arizona State backfield mates, HB Charley Taylor and FB Tony Lorick, on
offense. The defense included Minnesota DE Carl Eller, linebackers Dave Wilcox
of Oregon and Wally Hilgenberg from Iowa, and Oregon safety Mel Renfro. There
was some controversy when Coach Graham commented that Taylor appeared to “lack
desire” during the practices leading up to the game, and there was concern
about the condition of the highly-touted Mira’s sore arm.

There were 65,000 fans in attendance on a 79-degree
Friday night at Soldier Field. With Pete Beathard behind center, the All-Stars
advanced 27 yards in four plays following the opening kickoff, but Beathard
fumbled and MLB Bill George recovered for the Bears at the All-Star 46. The pro
champs were unable to take advantage of the break as they gained six yards in
three plays and Roger LeClerc was short on a 47-yard field goal attempt.

The All-Stars were unable to get beyond their 16 on the
next possession and the resulting punt gave Chicago good field position at the
All-Star 43. Bill Wade completed passes to split end Gary Barnes and Mike Ditka
but, with first-and-goal at the three yard line, HB Ronnie Bull gained a yard
and Wade’s pass into the end zone was intercepted by CB Jerry Richardson from
West Texas State.

The collegians moved effectively in response as Beathard
completed passes to Paul Warfield and split end Chuck Logan of Northwestern.
Tony Lorick contributed a 20-yard run as well. Beathard threw to Charley Taylor
for a 29-yard gain to the Chicago 15 and, while the All-Stars were unable to
reach the end zone, Ohio State’s Dick Van Raaphorst booted a 14-yard field goal
for the game’s first points.

The Bears came alive on offense and nearly scored when
Wade connected with flanker Johnny Morris for an apparent 31-yard touchdown,
but Morris was called for offensive pass interference. However, on the seventh
play of the series, they did get a TD on a pass from Wade to Ditka that covered
13 yards. Bob Jencks added the extra point and Chicago was ahead by 7-3.

The All-Stars again had to punt following their next
possession but HB Billy Martin muffed the kick and Taylor recovered for the
collegians at the Chicago 17. Two plays later, George Mira picked up a fumbled
snap and pitched the ball back to Taylor, who then unleashed an option pass to
Georgia Tech TE Ted Davis for a 14-yard touchdown. Van Raaphorst converted and
the All-Stars took a 10-7 lead into halftime.

The Bears went 80 yards in 11 plays to start the third
quarter and effectively take control of the game. The big play was a pass from
Wade to Morris that covered 39 yards to the All-Star one. Two plays later, Wade
scored from there on a quarterback sneak and, with Jencks adding the PAT,
Chicago was in front by 14-10.

On the next series, QB Jack Concannon of Boston College
fumbled and DE Doug Atkins recovered for the Bears and Wade immediately
capitalized by connecting with Barnes for a 20-yard TD. Jencks added the point
after and in less than two minutes the pro champs had gone from a three-point
deficit to a 21-10 lead.

The teams traded interceptions before the All-Stars, with
Mira (pictured at left) back in at quarterback, advanced to the Chicago four. However, the Bears
held and the collegians came up empty.

In the fourth quarter, a Beathard pass was picked off by CB
Bennie McCrae at the All-Star 39, and the Bears effectively put the game away
when backup QB Rudy Bukich threw to HB Charlie Bivins for a 30-yard touchdown.

Down by 28-10, the All-Stars attempted trickery with both
Beathard and Mira lining up together in the backfield. Advancing 80 yards, and
with Beathard taking the snap and lateraling to Mira, the collegians managed to
get one last TD on a five-yard toss to Taylor. Van Raaphorst converted but
there were only 25 seconds remaining in the contest. The Bears ended up winning
comfortably by a final score of 28-17.

Chicago had the edge in total yards (371 to 289) although
the All-Stars managed to gain 142 yards on the ground. Both teams turned the
ball over four times apiece.

Bill Wade completed 15 of 23 passes for 217 yards and two
touchdowns. Ronnie Bull led the Bears in rushing with 35 yards on 9 carries.

George Mira completed 8 of 18 passes for 70 yards and a
TD and rushed for 56 yards on four carries. Pete Beathard was five of seven for
75 yards but gave up two interceptions. Tony Lorick ran for 38 yards on six
attempts and Charley Taylor (pictured below) contributed seven rushes for 36 yards, caught two
passes for 34 yards and a TD, threw a touchdown pass, and recovered a fumble. The
player who had been subject to Otto Graham’s barbed comment prior to the game
was named All-Star MVP.

The win by Chicago gave the pro champs a 20 to 9 edge in
the series, with two ties. It was the fifth victory for the Bears, against one
defeat and a tie, in what was their final appearance in the game. They dropped
to sixth place in the Western Conference with a 5-9 record in ’64 and did not
return to the postseason until 1977.

Charley Taylor went on to a Rookie of the Year season for
Washington and, shifted to wide receiver two years later, put together a career
that made him the NFL’s all-time pass receiving leader at the time of his
retirement (649 catches) and gained him enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall
of Fame. George Mira had far less success, spending most of his career as a
backup for the 49ers (and later the Eagles and Dolphins) although he was the
starting quarterback for the Birmingham Americans, who won the only World
Football League championship in 1974.